Casey Affleck is totally convincing in Manchester by the Sea. It would have been easy for him to over act some of his more agonising moments, but his restraint shows an intelligent emotional understanding of his character. I think he will win the Oscar and I think he deserves to.

Best Actress

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Emma Stone(La La Land) probable winner

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Natalie Portman(Jackie)my choice

My additions

Emily Blunt (Girl on the Train)

Amy Adams (Nocturnal Animals, Arrival)

I’m pretty sure Emma Stone will win for La La Land. She is totally effervescent throughout. Although there has been quite a bit of La La Land backlash, none of it has come her way. She was nominated for Birdman in 2015 and lost to Patricia Arquette for Boyhood- I think The Academy may feel she is due an Oscar!

I would love for Natalie Portman to win. The film is laden with close ups and as such, highly reliant on the quality and intricacies of her performance. She certainly doesn’t disappoint and brings her character to life, portraying all of the complexities, dissonances and the dichotomy of her situation. Her impression of the real Jackie Kennedy is also uncanny.

I don’t think the Oscars would be complete without their obligatory nod to Meryl Streep’s latest performance. Has anyone actually watched Florence Foster Jenkins? I’m sure she was fantastic, as per, but I don’t think she will receive another Oscar, nor do I think anyone would be that excited if she did…!

I watched Girl on the Train the other day and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it! Emily Blunt’s performance as a wavering alcoholic and snubbed ex-wife elevates this (admittedly trashy) movie.

Music (Original Score)

Jackie- Mica Levi– my choice

La La Land- Justin Hurwitz – probable win

Lion- Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka

Moonlight- Nicholas Britell

Passengers- Thomas Newman

The La La Land score is fab- jubilant, (slightly) cheesy, catchy and sticks in your head and.wont.get.out.

I love Mica Levi’s score for Jackie- it provides the movie with a feeling of other worldliness. It is almost beautiful and lush but it jars and you get that feeling of something cold spilling down into your stomach, that something is amiss and that something may have just gone terribly wrong- not the music you might expect for a historical biopic.

Another Day of Sun announces the film spectacularly, assuring us that this will be an explosive love letter to LA on music and ambition. There’s no time to brace ourselves or prepare for this- we’re just chucked in at the deep end. For me, this song perfectly encapsulates the joy and spectacle of the whole movie.

Writing Original Screen play

Hell Or High Water- Taylor Sheridan

La La Land- Damien Chazelle

The Lobster- Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou

Manchester By The Sea- Kenneth Lonergan– probable win, my choice

20th Century Women- Mike Mills

Surely, Manchester By The Sea must win this award. Lonergan’s script is devastating yet witty. He clearly cares deeply about each and every one of his characters and genuinely captures their nuances and eccentricities. Many of the scenes appears as vignettes- totally compelling and complete in and of themselves. Odd moments of humour are played against maelstroms of tragedy; the film feels completely fresh.

I don’t think the Lobster should win Best Script, but I’m quite impressed that this acerbic dystopian black comedy made it to the Oscars! The script is based on a unique premise: everyone must be in a relationship or risk being turned into an animal of their choice .(!?!) The film takes our notions surrounding relationships and drags them to their absolute logical extreme. The plot is completely original and quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before… or, probably, will ever see again!